Skico ups pass price

The cost of a “super early bird” Premier Pass for Aspen Chamber Resort Association members will be $1,129 for the 2005-2006 ski season, up $50 from last season.The Aspen Skiing Co. announced their season pass plans and prices Tuesday, including a new pass that allows two parents with kids under 12 to share a pass between them. The Parent Pass costs the same as a premier pass without an ACRA discount – that’s $1,579 for a pass that couples with children can share.”It’s something we decided to do for parents in the community,” said Jeff Hanle Skico spokesman. “If parents aren’t getting to spend a lot of time skiing together, it’s a way to help flexibility-wise and save some money.”When parents want to ski together, they can buy up to 10 additional tickets throughout the season at a discount.Season passes will go on sale Monday, Aug. 15. There are three deadlines for pass purchases, with the prices ratcheting up as each deadline passes. The cheapest “super early” passes can be purchased through Sept. 9; “early” passes can be purchased through Nov. 11; and full-price passes go on sale beginning Nov. 12. This is the third year in a row that the price for the ACRA premier pass – good for unlimited skiing or riding – has jumped. For the 2003-04 season, the company upped the price of the pass by $30 to push it over the $1,000 mark for the first time. Last season the price rose $50 to $1,079.”Our costs go up every year, specifically medical costs for 3,000 employees,” Hanle said.Hanle added that Skico has more than $20 million in capital improvements going on, from the trails of the new Deep Temerity area at Aspen Highlands to the Snowmass Ski Area Village Express six pack ski lift.”It costs money to run the resort, and our fixed costs are not going down, they’re going up,” he said. “For us to remain viable as a business, we have to be in line with that. The lifts are the big improvements that the skiing public will see this year.”The two-day pass, with the ACRA discount, is $819 if purchased by Sept. 9; the one-day pass is $619 with the discount for early purchasers.The seven-day Classic Pass for adults is available again this season for $219; it offers seven days of skiing for $31.29 per day at any of the four mountains with no restrictions. The cost of the seven-day Classic Pass is up $20 from last year.The price of an adult four-day Classic Pass rose $10 to $139 this year.Naomi Havlen’s e-mail address is nhavlen@aspentimes.com